A regionally rare bird - once declared as an extinct breeding species in the UK - has made its earliest ever return to one of its few North East nesting sites.

An unringed female avocet was spotted on Wader Lake at WWT Washington Wetland Centre – two days earlier than the site’s previous record set in 2014.

Reserve warden David Dinsley said: “It’s always very exciting to see the first avocets return each season and we’re thrilled that a new record has been set this year.

“We now expect numbers to start gradually building as more birds move further north during this mild weather and we’ve already begun reducing the water levels on Wader Lake in anticipation of their arrival.

“This creates more habitat and also exposes the invertebrate-rich mud on which avocets feed, picking prey from the surface or foraging by sweeping their long, up-curved bill from side to side through the sediment.”

The early bird avocet at Washington (Image: Handout)

Avocets began breeding at WWT Washington in 2006 and since then numbers have steadily increase,; hitting a high of 42 on site last June.

The black and white waders typically nest on the fingers of Wader Lake as well as on its shingle islands, which were enhanced and doubled in size in 2015 thanks to a £21.4K funding boost from Biffa Award.

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David said: “Avocets are a real conservation success story for WWT Washington and their thriving presence here is a great example of local conservation work in action.

“Visitors should soon be able to watch from the hides as these charismatic birds begin prospecting for nest sites, fighting over territory and settling down to breed, with chicks hatching in early summer.”